


Ashes Of Eden

by Aberrant_Quill



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Acquaintance to Friend to Lover, Dragon Age II Spoilers, Dragon Age: Inquisition Spoilers, Dragon Age: Origins Spoilers, Eventual Smut/Lemon/Erotica, F/M, Journal Entries, Lyrium Withdrawal, Mild canon divergence, Multi, Non-Canonical Ending, Non-Canonical Scenes, Past Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Past Lyrium Addiction, Semi-graphic violence, The Game Is Just A Template, death of a child, non-canonical timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-15 00:09:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21024509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aberrant_Quill/pseuds/Aberrant_Quill
Summary: This is being scrapped! I'll eventually delete it, but I am remaking it!Reasons? Well, I felt like it was too "All over" the place, and my job kept me from updating like I wanted.But, I've got a new job that pays amazingly and I don't have to do as much physical labor as I was doing at my old job.Keep an eye out for the new, revamped version, "The Beginning Of The End"!





	1. Introductions

As the chapter title indicates, this will be a simple introduction.

This is not mandatory to read by any means, but it will help out a lot when more chapters are uploaded. Feel free to look back and reference this whenever you need it!

Let me explain the tag "_The Game Is Just A Template"_ as it'll be helpful if you know what I mean.  
While the story itself follows the basic outline of "Dragon Age: Inquisition", there are many moments to where the actual canonical sequences diverge. Some things happen earlier in this story than they do in the game itself, and some reactions are different. It's easy to see that this follows the main events of "Dragon Age: Inquisition", but I've added my own personal flare to some things. I'll be playing through the game as I write and update these chapters, and some things (mostly in the beginning and during major plot points) will be taken directly from the game itself. But, don't worry - this isn't a 100%, complete retelling of the game and the events that ensue in it!

Here is [Lycorisia's pinterest board](https://www.pinterest.ca/spectatingspector/lycorisia-trevelyan/)   
You do not have to browse it, but, you can find her journal here, her clothing, and what her hair looks like!  
You can also find some quotes that match her personality and views.

**╔═════════════════╗**

**Timeline - Canon Divergence **

**╚═════════════════╝**

**9:12 Dragon - **Ser William Trevelyan and Madame Veronica Trevelyan are married. Hyacinth [Hi-a-sinth] Trevelyan, their son, is conceived and born later that year.

**9:15 Dragon - **Ser William's and Madame Veronica's second child is born. A girl named Roseline [Rose-a-leen] Trevelyan.

**9:18 Dragon - **Ser William's and Madame Veronica's third, and last, child is born. A girl named Lycorisia [Lie-core-is-ee-a] Trevelyan.

**9:26 Dragon - **Lycorisia comes into her magic, and is quickly sent to the Ostwick Circle. She set the family stables on fire under mysterious circumstances.

**9:30 Dragon - **The Fifth Blight begins and is quickly ended; Alistair Theirin is placed as King, ruling aside Queen Anora.

**9:37 Dragon - **The infamous Kirkwall Rebellion begins and soon ends with Anders, an ex Warden, blowing up the Chantry. 

**9:40 Dragon - **Due to a Mage Uprising, Circles fall across Thedas. The Conclave is called to order, and soon ends in tragedy. Divine Justinia is killed.

**9:40 Dragon - **Lycorisia Trevelyan survives the blast at the Conclave, and her title quickly changes from "Murderer" to "Herald".

**9:41 Dragon - **Haven falls, and Lycorisia survives this somehow. Skyhold is rediscovered, and Lycorisia is hailed as the Inquisitor.

**9:43 Dragon - **The battle is finally over, and Corypheus is finally defeated. Months later, the new Divine is crowned.

**9:44 Dragon - **The Exalted Council is called into place.

**╔═════════════════╗**

**Lycorisia - Information **

**╚═════════════════╝**

Since I suck butt at art, I'm going to describe Lycorisia to the best of my abilities.

**Physical Appearance: **Lycorisia is roughly an average looking woman. She's stands at 5 feet and 5 inches tall (165 cm), making her a bit below average for current human standards. She's also rather curvaceous, as life in the circle didn't exactly encourage sword training or anything of the such.  
Trekking up and down the stairs, and wielding her Staff during mandatory training has given her a bit of muscle, though. In later chapters, it is questioned as to why she hasn't lost weight. Reasoning is genetics, along with her being fairly active in the Circle, and maintaining weight due to food consumption. Though her true weight is never revealed, I imagine her to be between 150 to 165 pounds (68 to 75 kilograms). Physically, she carries her weight well. She's buxom with broad shoulders and even broader hips, and in later chapters, it's revealed that she has quite the nice rump as well.  
Now, here's the reasoning behind her namesake. "Lycoris", the flower she is named after, is a deep red in colouring, and her hair matches that colour closely. Her eyes are mostly green, with shades varying as the colour nears the pupil. Around her pupil is a brown ring, and the colour is similar to that of rich cedar tone.

**Mentality: **Turbulent Advocate || INFJ-T (test taken here <https://www.16personalities.com/infj-personality>)  
Lycorisia is often described as a meek, mild mannered woman, and while that description can be correct under certain instances, it is mostly wrong.   
When the extremely private woman opens up to her companions, they mostly describe her as: creative, insightful, intelligent, determined, passionate, and altruistic. While that is true, hardly anyone sees those traits in her due to her extremely private nature. Under extreme scrutiny, she can be seen as an all-to-sensitive perfectionist that struggles with her own, hidden issues. These are just the traits that are most blatant, and some can only be discovered upon reading her story.

**Magic (and Non-Magic) Specialties  
**Primal Magic: Primal Magic is categorized as having an adept knowledge over electrical, fire, and ice spells. While Lycorisia has a great deal of knowledge over all three of these magical classes, she mainly studies electrical magic and ice magic. These two classes happen to be her favourite, and are the ones she mainly uses on the battle field. With that being said, she does actively use a few, specially picked, fire spells.  
Fade Walking: While under the wing of Solas, she began to walk to Fade in a similar manor that he does. With that being said, he helped her in the ways of the Rift Mage, and she is grateful that he was able to teach her (almost) everything he knows about the Fade.  
Alchemy: While being locked away for so long in the Ostwick Circle, Lycorisia kept herself busy by reading books on Botany and many other things. With that knowledge, she found herself delving into alchemical mixes, and has been able to craft potions, tonics, and a few grenades. Her true specialty, though lies in potions.  
History: Along with Botany books, Lycorisia also found herself drifting towards Historical Books (and some fictional books). She is well versed on Orlesian politics, Tevinter culture, and Ferelden culture.

**╔═════════════════╗**

**Lycorisia - Age **

**╚═════════════════╝**

**9:40 Dragon**  
When the Conclave is called into action (12th month, Haring), Lycorisia is merely 22 years of age.   
Haven is founded and made base of operation in the early days of Haring.

**9:41 Dragon**  
Haven is destroyed this year, and was the base of operations for nearly a year.  
Haven is desolated during the early days of Firstfall, shortly after Lycorisia's 23rd name day.

**9:41 Dragon  
**Skyhold is founded nearly a month after Haven's destruction. The pilgrimage is finished near the start of Haring.

**9:42 Dragon**  
Lycorisia investigates many places, such as the Arbor Wilds, Exalted Plains, and more. Her 24th name day takes place.

**9:43 Dragon**  
It takes well over a year until they finally defeat Corypheus during Solace. The new Divine is declared on the first of Harvestmere, shortly after Lycorisia's 25th name day.

**9:44 Dragon**  
The Exalted Council is called into action during late Bloomingtide. Lycorisia is married, and is still 25.

**╔═════════════════╗**

**Theme Song(s) **

**╚═════════════════╝**

**Lycorisia Trevelyan**

Svrcina / Tommee Profitt - "[Tomorrow We Fight](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdrgTAt6Qxs)"

Shawn James - "[Burn The Witch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNd4sL1OpcE)"

**Cassandra Pentaghast**

Svrcina - "[Meet Me On The Battle Field](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZrddJPGp1I)"

**Solas**

Lorde - "[Everybody Wants To Rule The World](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smSSSs46rng)"

**Varric Tethras**

Thousand Foot Krutch - "[Courtesy Call](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxqW1Eq0iP4)"

**The Iron Bull**

Beth Crowley - "[Battle Cry](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H9A4996g4U)"

**Blackwall | Thom**

Svrcina - "[Who Are You?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWk4zqmQwVE)"

**Vivienne**

Valerie Broussard - "[A Little Wicked](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46rUBCewhxY)"

**Sera**

Wondra / Tommee Profitt - "[I'm Not Afraid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=telUyrGEZ5A)"

**Dorian Pavus**

Jaymes young - "[I'll Be Good](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POqEVwROEQs)"

**Cole**

Liv Ash / Tommee Profitt - "[A Storm Is Comin'](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU4J17q8lsg)"

**Cullen Rutherford**

Fleurie - "[Soldier](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32W3J7XaNH8)"

Lauren Aquilina - "[King](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS5GfL9F7L4)"

**Leliana**

Sam Tinnesz - "[Far From Home (The Raven](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSxoOyuA3eE))"

**Josephine Montilyet**

Fleurie / Tommee Profitt - "[Undone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPaQ3N_89KA)"


	2. When The Sky Bled Green

_When the sky bled green_

_Everyone could hear **their** screams:_

_The damned,_

_The foolish,_

_And the hopeful._

* * *

Everything was.. _Burning_. 

The scent of smoldering flesh cut through the air, and it sent a wave of nausea through her gut, causing it to clench and coil. She was vaguely aware of something, or someone, calling out to her specifically. And then came those damned beasts. An unrelenting torrent of spiders came scuttling behind her, and the guttural noises that escaped the insects sounded oddly like the screams of many. As the cries of _"Lycorisia, this way!"_ became louder the speed of the spiders increased; Lycorisia scaled the rocks, almost falling to her death thrice before she grabbed for the person's hand. And as soon as she made contact, her whole world faded to white.

•• ━━━━━━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━━━━━━ ••

  
The green rift sputtered and screeched, and the very sounds that erupted from the tear in the veil caused the soldiers to flinch back, taking a few cautionary steps away from the damned demon spewing thing.

"Men, do not falter. Anything that comes out of that must be killed! The temple has already been laid to waste by _something__!_ Whatever comes out of that can't be wor-"

The man's words were cut short, and as the breach sputtered and seemingly spat, a woman fell forwards, thumping heavily onto her knees. Behind her was what looked like to be a divine light, and the vague shape of another woman was seen, pushing the redhead forwards, out of the green monstrosity. With that, the small rift sewed itself shut, twisting a churning before exploding into a black mess that seeped into the ground.

Everyone was still, and the foreboding silence that crept through the surrounding area didn't help increase their morale at all. Despite the tension that still permeated the air, the taller man followed through with barking out orders. His lion helm didn't seem to muffle his voice, but as he spoke, he grew louder. His tone shifted, the tension easing out of it as he slowly began to fall back into the habit of commanding the men around him.

"You two!" he exclaimed, pointing towards two men that were standing relatively close to whatever, or whoever, had just fell from the rift. "Aid each other! Get Seeker Pentaghast quickly, and inform her of what happened. Someone go inform Nightingale of the.. Incident! Now, that's an order! And someone go get that damned apostate and see if he can help keep whatever that is alive. Maker knows that they might have some information on what happened here." His commands flew from his mouth quickly, causing the troops to scramble in different directions. A band of them fled to the left, two to the right, three behind him, and two slowly approached the figure that was laying on the ground.

"Easy, boys. Abominations can, and will, take on the form of whatever it possessed. Just stand guard until the apostate gets here and scans it." He stated, motioning towards the thing that laid on the ground. Whatever it was appeared to be a woman, though this speculation came only from the abundance of deep, scarlet hair that escaped their cowl. Their cloak was large, bulky, even, and hid their figure well. As the man stalked towards the figure lying on the ground, a hand grasped his shoulder, pulling him back slightly.

He turned, his face contorting into that of snarl. His tensed muscles easily portrayed his agitation, and no one needed for him to lift the lion helm to know that he was, well, pissed off. The elven man bent at the waist, bowing towards the taller human before creeping towards the person that laid face down in the dirt. He held his stave outwards, and his knuckles were white due to the tight grip; even the Apostate was wary of whatever, or whoever, that was. He kneeled aside the figure, dropping his stave as he turned it onto its' back. The human's haunch was right, and it was indeed a woman, _'Or a demon dressed up in a woman's skin..'_ he reminded himself, that had fallen from the small rift.

The elven man's hand glowed as he moved it down her body, and his eyes were shut tight in what one would assume was concentration. He turned, looking towards the lion helmed man apprehensively. "This.. Is a human. A human _mage_ to be exact. She is not possessed, but she is wounded. The mark on her hand is a result from that rift, Commander-" he stated, and motioned towards the swelling mass of green and grey in the sky, "-but I cannot say if she is innocent or not. She may just be a victim of fate, or she may be behind the explosion. Whatever the cause, I suggest that we get her to Hav-"

The elven man's words were cut off, and the sound of clanking armor rang out. From atop the hill came three figures; two were obviously male, and the other was that of a woman. Seeker Pentaghast strutted towards them, her face forming her usual scowl as she neared the group. "Solas, what are your observations on.." she muttered, her gaze falling across the thickly built woman that laid on the ground before her, only to trail back towards the elven apostate. "The woman. The soldiers told me that-" she was cut off as Sister Nightingale quickly approached. Solas picked up the conversation, standing, and looking at the both of them.

"She is not possessed, but if you wish for her to stand any trial, or for her to close the breach, we must get her back to Haven. She is wounded, but the mark is what's killing her." He stated, motioning to her left hand that laid outwards, palm up. The two women looked at each other, and Solas could practically hear the gears turning in their heads. The two nodded towards the man in the lion helm, and he bellowed; "Alright, men! I need you to escort the woman back to Haven. Take her to the cells, and only let Solas, Sister Nightingale, and Seeker Pentaghast have access to her. Three, no, four of you will be posted outside the cell at all times. At least three Templars will be positioned in the cell at all times in case anything goes astray."  
And with that, the group was off. 

•• ━━━━━━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━━━━━━ ••

  
They reached Haven slowly. The trek was long and insufferable; everyone was tense, and whenever a groan escaped the prisoner, the soldiers would come to a halt, only to start walking again when Seeker Pentaghast or Sister Nightingale nodded towards them. Eventually, they all made it to Haven, and positioned the prisoner in a simple bed roll. Solas was looming over the woman immediately, his hands hovering above her before he stood abruptly. While his face showed little to no emotion, his voice betrayed that as he spoke, "Ir abelas, da'avis." He turned to the taller woman; her hair was a deep black and cut short, her tan face was marred on the left side, and the scar stretched from the bottom of her left cheek bone to her jaw. "Seeker Pentaghast, please strip the prisoner down to her breast band and smalls. Place a cover over her lower half to protect her modesty. A full examination is needed to make sure that there are no broken bones." 

The elven man was stiff. His back was rigid, and the muscles that lined his frame were taunt. He was clearly on edge as he stepped away, his back turned towards the woman as the Seeker and another woman soldier stripped her. Aside from a few groans, the prisoner was quiet. After a soft "Ah-hem", Solas turned, walking back over to the woman. He sunk onto his knees slowly, gliding a hand down her right arm. He felt of her fingers, wincing as he popped a few back into place, his own hand glowing a faint blue as he stitched and knitted the skin together, healing a deep gash on her right wrist. He repeated this process making his way down her abdomen, creeping a hand along her covered legs, checking for any broken bones. He rolled her gently, and aside from a few bruises, her back was untouched. He now turned his attention to her left hand, and the mark that was placed upon her palm sputtered and stretched.

Hours passed, and Solas had managed to get the eerie mark under control. The magic was still there, sputtering and spitting from time to time, but, the condition of it was vastly improved. He stood, wiping the sweat from his brow as he looked towards the taller woman. "Seeker Pentaghast, I'll have you know this: the mark is killing her, and it will kill her. Her only chance, no, our only chance, is to keep her alive long enough so she can seal the rift. It is the main one, the one that started all of this. If she can seal it, it will save her, and us, in the process." His explanation was that of a lengthy one, but, he could see the Seeker visibly relax at the knowledge. Her lip twitched, a smile almost forming before she spoke. "Solas, do you think she is truly guilty? I have my doubts, but-" she was cut off, Solas interrupting her. "Seeker I do not believe her to be guilty. Mage or not, no one human could tear the veil like _that_. Come to your own conclusion about the prisoner when she awakes. The mark is stable, for now. So, if you'll excuse me, I'll be in the valley, helping where I can." and with that, Solas was gone, making his way out of the cell and out of Haven.  
"Maker.. What do you have planned?" the Seeker muttered, gaze drawing up towards the ceiling, and the sky that laid beyond it.

•• ━━━━━━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━━━━━━ ••

  
The prisoner was quickly dressed and left to rest, but thick iron cuffs were placed around her wrists, and the cuffs were enchanted. The runes that were engraved on them were used for capturing dangerous apostates, but, with all the things that had happened, Cassandra found it to be a wise choice to place them on the prisoner. Time would only tell when she would awake, though that time was sooner than Cassandra or Leliana had expected.

As the mark sputtered to life, the laying prisoner jolted upright, a choked sob escaping her. Her red hair was a mess atop her head, having come out of the messy bun she placed it in before the Conclave. She looked around, and her leaf green eyes were wide. The look that was on her face was one of fear and confusion, and as a Templar called out, Seeker Pentaghast made her way into the cell. The men and women that guarded her had their swords drawn, and as the Seeker raised her hand, they lowered theirs. "Leave us. Now." and with that, they filtered out of the cell, disappearing around a corner.

Cassandra eyed the prisoner, brow furrowing and lips turning downwards in a frown. "Tell me what you know. The Conclave is destroyed, and the most Holy is dead." Lycorisia was aware of another woman lurking just out of sight, and if she hadn't strained to hear the soft sound of her feet meeting the harsh stone, she would've never knew that she was there. The mark flared again, electing another scream from Lycorisia. Her own brows furrowed as she watched the dark haired woman in front of her pace. Suddenly, she had hoisted Lycorisia up by her collar, and the shorter, younger woman felt her feet leave the floor. The hidden woman, the one that had been lurking in the shadows, rushed forwards, placing an arm on the stouter woman. "We need her, Cassandra! Set her down, else you might choke the poor woman before we can get answers out of her!"

With that, the dark haired woman, now known as Cassandra, set her down, allowing Lycorisia to fall to her knees once more. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked up, "I... All those people.. Dead? Tell me, did you find a younger girl, blonde ha-" Lycorisia was cut off, the slender woman stepping forward. "Do you remember what happened? How this all began?" Lycorisia looked down, a frown set upon her lips. "I... I remember.... Running? Things, I- I think they were spiders? Were chasing me... What happened?" Cassandra stared her down, a sigh escaping her before she spoke. "Leliana, head to the camp... And, it would be easier to show you." Cassandra grabbed Lycorisia by the arm, locking it with her own, before hauling her upwards. The duo marched out of the Chantry, and as Lycorisia's eyes slowly adapted to the light, she saw it.

"I- Maker, what is that?" She asked, her voice pitching upwards, fear obvious. "That is the breach. It's a tear in this world that allows demons to enter from the Fade. We do not know what caused it, but it is killing you. The mark on your hand may very well be the key to stopping this from growing and devouring us all." Cassandra set a brutal pace, marching forwards. The breach surged, the green-grey clouds swirling quickly before slowing. As this happened, the mark on Lycorisia's hand flared, bringing the young woman to her knees.

"You said it may be the key, to... To stopping this? But how?" her words were frantic, sounding more pained than anything, but Cassandra answered her, lowering herself beside her. "It is just a theory, but, it is the only one we have. Weather it is the truth or not, no body knows. However, it is your only chance. And your only chance." Cassandra's gaze followed Lycorisia, watching the subtle movements before she inhaled deeply, brow furrowing. Her tone was less frantic than before, but the fear was still there. "I.. If I can help, I will. I'll do what I can.. Whatever it takes."

Cassandra marched the young woman through the small town, and people on either side of her stared, their own lips twitching downwards, and some outright spat at her, causing her to flinch away. "Divine Justinia wanted to stop this all. End the madness between the mages and templars. They are angry, we are all angry, and we mourn the loss deeply. They have decided your guilt, but, let them be. We.. We all lash out at the sky, angry, attacking blindly at everything, but... We must think beyond ourselves, like she did." Cassandra turned to Lycorisia, a small key in hand. She pressed it into the lock, and the cuffs fell from her hands. "Listen. I can promise you a trial, at least, but nothing more. If you manage to seal the breach, then.. I do not know what will happen."

With that, Cassandra lead her out of Haven, keeping her hand atop Lycorisia's shoulder in a knuckle white grip at all times.

The journey was just beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First actual legitimate chapter is up, woo!  
Constructive criticism and feedback in general is deeply welcomed!  
Elven translation, taken from Project Elvhen on this very website! I adore their work, and hoo boy they're gonna be a huuuuge help throughout this story! <3  
"Ir abelas, da'avis." - "I am sorry, little flame/fire"  
Solas will be using "Da'avis" as a nickname for Lycorisia, and as a general term for affection. No, he does not have, and will not have, romantic feelings towards her, but he will/does respect her deeply.


	3. Ashes Of The Damned

_Within the valley_

_The temple used to stand tall._

_Now it harbors the remains:_

_The ashes of the damned._

•• ━━━━━━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━━━━━━ ••

Cassandra's grip on her shoulder did not falter as she led her, the _prisoner,_ through Haven. They had long passed the men and women that jeered and spat at her, and Lycorisia was sure that a bruise would form in the morning, evidence of Cassandra's harsh grip. The young woman was already tired, and as they neared a bridge, the taller woman released her grip. She turned to her, a scowl plastered across her face. "We are heading towards the valley, where most of our troops are stationed. Sister Nightingale will most likely be at the forward camp, so be warned." Lycorisia could only nod, and the duo set off once more, the brisk pace almost causing her to stumble.

The doors that were on the opposing side of the bridge swung open, and the two guards that were stationed on either side moved, saluting with a hand over their heart. "When the temple was laid to waste, good men and women alike died. You mentioned something about a younger woman-" Lycorisia offered a stiff nod, and Cassandra went on with the conversation, "-I despair to say this, but, she is most likely dead. As far as we can tell, you were, you _are_ the only survivor of the explosion." With her hand placed to her mouth, Lycorisia stifled a sob, and her eyes closed briefly as she nodded. "I understand.. I.. Thank you for telling me this, Seeker Pentaghast." Lycorisia could feel her hands tremble at the information, though she looked forwards, hoping and praying that the woman beside her was wrong.

•• ━━━━━━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━━━━━━ ••

It had fell. The damn _bridge_ had fell as a chunk of something from the breach came soaring towards it, connecting with a loud, and powerful, boom. Lycorisia and Cassandra both were falling, tumbling down the wreckage and landing on a solid, _'Oh thank the Maker, it's solid!'_, sheet of ice. Cassandra was on her feet almost instantly, checking the stability of the ice around them; Lycorisia blinked away tears, rubbing the back of her head gingerly to check for blood. Another chunk of rock came hurling towards them, and in it's wake, a Shade sprung forth. Cassandra was quick with her shield, bringing it upwards quick enough to bash the foul creature back. "Stay behind me, and watch yourself!" Cassandra called out, drawing her sword as the demon regained its composure. Cassandra charged it, her sword slicing at the creature quickly.

Lycorisia pushed herself up off the ice, steadying herself slowly. As she stood, the sheet of ice in front of her churned and lurched, green, fade touched spikes shooting upwards. Another Shade manifested, rising with a shrill screech, tittering as it watched the human before it scramble, looking around. Something glinted near a pile of boxes, and Lycorisia dove for it, grasping blindly as she narrowly avoided a clawed hand. She grabbed the weapon, swinging it forwards, bashing the Shade over the head. '_Aha! A staff! Thank the Maker!_ ' She thought to herself, twirling the all-to-familiar object in her hand. As the Shade neared her, she quickly casted a Flashfire spell. As the flames licked over the Shade, it seemed to panic, rushing around, completely forgetting about both women. 

Lycorisia slid across the ice, and as the Shade turned its attention towards Cassandra, she focused. She brought the staff up before driving it downwards. Lightening arched across the two Shades, and she poured her willpower forth, actively controlling the arching bolts in order to keep them away from Cassandra's metal clad body. As Cassandra reeled she pushed her blade forwards, stabbing the Shade in the abdomen before slicing upwards, cleaving the foul creature in half. Cassandra whirled, slicing at the other Shade's neck as Lycorisia channeled her magic into the staff, sending whirls of primal ice magic towards it. As black blood spewed from the Shade's neck, Lycorisia lowered her staff, approaching Cassandra.

"Thank the Maker, it's ov-" Her words were quickly cut off as Cassandra approached her, the sword turned on her now. Cassandra had an apprehensive look about her, and as she struggled to find her words, Lycorisia could feel her heat beat far too quickly in her chest. "Drop your weapon. Now!" Cassandra stated, speaking through clenched teeth. Lycorisia's movements faltered, and she knew very well that she couldn't take out the Seeker in her current state. "I... A demon attacked me! What was I supposed to do?!" She retorted, keeping her guard up, bringing the staff upwards, holding it out in a defensive manor. "You don't _need_ to fight, Apostate! We have enough issues right now with the rebel mages, and you could very well make them worse!" Cassandra shouted, taking a step closer. Her sword and shield were both poised, almost as if Cassandra was waiting for her to make the first move. "Fine.. Have it your way." She muttered, tossing the staff away from her. Cassandra let out a sigh, sheathing her sword quickly. "I.. Maker, you are right. Go fetch the staff. I can not always protect you, and you've agreed to come along willingly, even now. But, prisoner, do not make me regret my decision." She muttered, turning her back and walking up the snowy bank. Lycorisia looked towards her, blinking, before walking towards the staff, picking it up timidly. "Are you coming or not?" Cassandra called out, already at the top of the bank. '_Not like I have a choice...'_ she thought, sliding the staff through leather straps across her back before making her way towards Cassandra.

•• ━━━━━━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━━━━━━ ••

The trip through the valley was mostly uneventful; the duo faced Wraiths and Shades alike, and Lycorisia was even able to pick up a few remains from the corpses that could be invaluable when it came to studying the demons. Soon enough, though, their duo became a quartet.

As Lycorisia and Cassandra climbed up a set of stairs, a small outcrop presented itself, and on the lower surface, a group of people were fighting demons that had came through the sputtering rift. "Seeker, we must help them-" Lycorisia started to say, but it seemed as if Cassandra already had that planned out. She carefully leaped off the outcrop, landing solidly on her feet and began to run towards the fight. Lycorisia made her way down, and as soon as she was in range, she focused, drawing forth magic and willpower as she summoned another lightening based spell. The arches were smaller this time, as she had to make sure that none of the people in front of her were struck with them. After that, she began casting simple spells, and the icy bursts of energy weaved through the crowd, striking the Shades down. As the last Shade fell, a pale, elven man grabbed at her, yanking her wrist upwards, towards the small rift. Her left hand flew open, and as she started to protest, a beam of energy connected the rift to her hand, and when the man jerked her hand back, the rift sputtered and spat, sealing shut.

Lycorisia immediately jerked away from the elven man, almost falling onto her rump before she regained her footing. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she held her left hand within the right, and oh Maker, it felt like her hand itself was on fire. Most of her mana was seemingly drained from the simple action, and the world around her began to spin. Colours blended into each other, and the white contrasts of the snow was far too bright. A hand on her shoulder drew her back to reality, and as she felt her vision focus, her mana began to replenish. "I am pleased to see you still live. I am sorry about that all - if we would have hesitated, more demons would've began to pour through, and I doubt the soldiers would have wanted to fight another wave of them off." The elven man began, and his comment earned a disgruntled grunt from Cassandra. "If there are to be introductions, my name is Solas. The dwarf with the crossbow is named-" And said dwarf cut him off, slinging his crossbow across his back as he spoke. "Varric Tethras is the name. Although Bianca was pleased to get some actions, if the rift wasn't sealed, well... We'd be ass deep in demons forever." His tone was apologetic, yet held a lighter note to it. "Chuckles here-" He began, motioning towards the elf, "-kept that mark from killing you while you slept."

"I.. Well, thank you. For not letting me die, I mean.. How much do you know about this thing?" Lycorisia began, holding her left hand up to study it. The corners of his mouth tilted upwards, but only slightly slow. "I don't know much at all about it, aside from the fact that it _is_ killing you. I hypothesize that if the main rift is sealed, even if done so temporarily, that you will not die." His tone was light and soft, and Lycorisia was sure that he'd make a steadfast ally if he chose to stay after this all ended, and if, well, she survived. "It's nice to meet you Solas. You too, Varric. And please, feel free to call me Lycorisia. Tell me, Solas: what are my chances of surviving sealing.. That?" She asked, gesturing towards the swirling mass in the sky. His facial features softened, shoulders becoming lax as he spoke. "I'd say.. Well, if you're not killed by the demon that may be down there, you'd have about a fifty-fifty chance of living." A soft sigh escaped Lycorisia at this point as she looked towards the slope that lead deeper into the valley, "Well.. Let's get to it then."

•• ━━━━━━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━━━━━━ ••

The rest of the journey was uneventful for the most part; the slopes and inner areas were riddled with demons, but they hadn't ran into any more rifts yet. The Seeker seemed mildly distraught as she voiced her fears for Leliana, but was quiet for the most part. Varric, of course, was the one that did most, if not all, of the talking. His friendly demeanor was a welcomed warmth that Lycorisia seemingly needed, and she chatted with the dwarf as they traveled towards the forward camp.

"Ah, well... Shit" Varric muttered, climbing up the ancient stone steps. There was a rift blocking the gate, and the soldiers were barely holding up. Cassandra immediately sprang into action, bashing a Shade down before blocking a Wraith's spell. Varric lined a shot up, breathing slowly before he let Bianca fire. The Wraith twisted and screeched as the arrow struck it, and as it vanished back into the fade, the arrow fell to the ground. She and Solas both focused on protecting the soldiers that were under attack near the gate; he casted a barrier onto them as Lycorisia hit one with a flashfire, causing the Shade to retreat away, allowing the soldiers time to regroup. As the last Shade fell, Lycorisia swiped at a bead of sweat near her brow, lifting her left arm upwards towards the sputtering green mass. As her mana began to drain, she quickly made a fist, pulling it downwards. The rift sputtered and spat for a moment, and as a Shade began to crawl out of it, the rift closed, lopping its head off. "You... Are becoming quite proficient at this." Solas muttered while Cassandra's voice rang out, "Open the gates, now! We have business to attend to."

Lycorisia approached the bridge with an uneasy look, silently praying that this one didn't fall like the other had done hours ago. On the opposite side were two people: one was a man in Chantry robes, and the other looked like the same woman that had been skulking around in the shadows in her cell. "Your position here is useless, Nightingale! Call off the troops before more lives are lost-" the man was red faced, and his skin was sagging slightly due to his age. Nightingale, or Leliana, responded, her voice sharp like an arrow's head, "No, Chancellor Rodrick! If we do not seal that thing then everyone is dead! Solas speculated that if we seal that with the prisoner's mark, then we will be safe!" Lycorisia neared them, and the man scowled, glaring at her. "I bet this pleases you, heretic. Why is she not chained like she should be?!" He snapped, causing Lycorisia to retort back, "The breach is the more pressing issue here! I do not know who you are, but I would appreciate it if you did not jump to conclusions about our, no, your chance of survival!" By now her own face was red, and her voice had elevated. Leliana stepped away from the desk, approaching the four quickly.

"We must get her to the temple, and quickly. The mountain path would be the safest way, and we could use the soldiers as a distraction-" Cassandra snorted, glaring towards the aforementioned mountain, "No, Leliana. We lost contact with a whole scouting group up there! Maker, there could be more demons and we could lose her before she can even close the damned breach! I say we charge with the soldiers-" Varric interrupted now, looking up at Cassandra, "And what, Seeker? Lose a whole patrol? Let them just die?" A disgruntled snort came from Cassandra, and she turned, looking towards Lycorisia. "Well? What do you say we do? You're the one with the mark, after all." Lycorisia blinked, seemingly baffled by the fact that they were asking for her opinion. Her silence was heavy, and the tension between them all was so thick, that it could've been sliced with a sword. "I... Leliana, send another patrol through the mountains as a rescue operation _if_ you all have the men to spare. I'll charge with the remaining soldiers... Maker knows I probably won't last long enough to see any 'trial' you all have planned for me." She muttered, looking between the group. Varric let out a soft "Hah!" before turning away, seemingly pleased with her. Leliana looked perplex before nodding. "I'll go through the mountain path myself. I was going to just charge if you did, but... Any scouts we can recover will aid us in the long run." And with that, Leliana was off, fastening her longbow to her back.

•• ━━━━━━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━━━━━━ ••

Charging with the soldiers turned out to be an excellent idea, as there had been a rift that opened near their small camp. Lycorisia felt a small shudder run up her back as she looked to the left, seeing a pile of dead soldiers and a Chantry Sister attempting to start a fire for a pyre. As they neared the small ledge, Lycorisia felt her mana surge, the adrenaline seeping into her system once more. Solas casted a barrier around the group before they all leaped off the small ledge. Cassandra and Solas landed gracefully, while she and Varric? Well, they had room for improvement. She willed her magic forth, casting a barrier around a group of soldiers as they began to charge. She noticed that one of them, '_Perhaps that's their leader..?__'_ shudder at the touch of magic. The man had a lion helm on, and carried a sword and shield, similar to the one Cassandra had. He rushed towards the demons that spewed from the rift, and the battle ensued.

The rift sputtered and spat as the first wave of demons were killed. Two sets of spindly, needle sharp fingers emerged from the rift, and a Terror launched itself outwards, and another one followed suite behind it. "Men, these are mid tier demons! Keep your guard up - they are fond of teleporting!" The man with the lion helm yelled, lifting his shield as one of them swiped at him. Cassandra was on it in an instant, and the soldiers hounded the other one. Lycorisia found herself casting another barrier over Cassandra and the man, and was almost too late. The Terror that the soldiers were attacking sunk into the ground, and a bright green light appeared underneath Cassandra and the man, and the Terror shot up from the ground. "Maker! They have two to fight. Solas, cast a barrier over me, now, and Varric? Try not to shoot me!" Lycorisia yelled. She felt a chill leap up her spine, and as she willed her mana forwards, she fell suite. She fade stepped, passing through both of the terrors. They were chilled, and Solas waved his staff before striking the ground, completely freezing one of them.

Cassandra lunged forwards, bashing one and shattering its frozen body. The other Terror screeched, swiping towards the Man. With a wave of her staff, Lycorisia flung a flashfire at it, causing the Terror to screech, but not panic. The flames only seem to agitate it, causing it to turn its attention towards Lycorisia. As it brought down a ghastly clawed hand, she raised her staff. The wood buckled before splintering, and the magic that was concentrated at the head of the staff flickered out. Lycorisia ducked and almost fell as its other hand swept towards her, and the demon screeched as it clawed only air. Without her staff, her magic would be wild and almost uncontrollable, but, with the position she was in now? If she didn't cast something, she would be wounded or killed. 

Lycorisia forced herself back, and both the man and Cassandra leaped away as static began to pop and crackle in the air. Her hair stood on end, and with with a wave of her hand, she summoned a lightening spell, striking the Terror directly. The demon convulsed, and the mossy green skin that covered it popped and bubbled, and the demon itself smoked. It hit the ground, unmoving. She heard Solas yell the all too familiar phrase of "Now!" And with that, she slung her hand upwards, connecting her magic with the breach before closing it. Her hand didn't burn like it had last time, but it was still prickly, as if it had went numb beforehand.

The man removed his lion helm, looking towards Cassandra. His blond hair was undoubtedly styled, and his scarred lip twitched upwards as he neared her. "Cassandra, good job on sealing that rift-" Cassandra cut him off quickly, turning her gaze towards Lycorisia. "Do not think me, it was her doing, Cullen." She stated. Solas and Varric neared the group now, and Solas had two staffs, one in either hand. "Ah, so the prisoner did that? Well done. Let's just hope you can close the breach, then." He muttered, his voice taking on a solemn tone. Solas handed one of the staffs towards Lycorisia, and she quickly haltered it onto her back. Cullen's gaze lingered on Lycorisia for a moment before he spoke, "May the Maker watch over you, for all of our sakes." And with that, he turned, making his way towards a wounded solider. He locked his arm underneath the man, helping him towards the wall. "Well then, let's get to the breach then, shall we?"

•• ━━━━━━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━━━━━━ ••

"I.. Maker, that's a long way up. Do you have a plan to get me up there?" Lycorisia asked, looking towards Cassandra. Solas placed a hand on her shoulder, turning her attentions towards him. "This rift was the first. If we can seal it, then the breach itself may close. Do not worry about what's in the sky - worry about what's closer to the ground." Lycorisia and Cassandra both nodded at his words, and Cassandra spoke, "Well.. Let's find a way to get down there." 

Lycorisia easily navigated the rocks, and as they neared some strange, glowing crystals, she heard Varric let out a hiss. "Seeker, you know that's red lyrium! What's it doing here?!" He exclaimed, staying away from it, nearly walking over the edge in the process. "Perhaps it simply laid under the temple. The magic could've drawn at it, pulling it forth and corrupting it?" Solas muttered, voicing his thoughts on it all. Varric let out a groan, eyeing the group. "Well, whatever the cause, stay away from it. That shit's evil." He muttered, picking up his own pace, walking ahead of the group. Lycorisia stared at it, and almost leaned forward to touch it, though she drew her hand back quickly. The breach flickered, causing her hand to flash as figures appeared in the sky.

_"Now is the hour of our victory..."_

_"Someone - help me!"_

_"Hey! What's going on here? Why do you have the Divine-!"  
_

_"We have an intruder... Kill the girl, now!"_

"I.. What happened? Most Holy called out to you.. Tell me, now!" And with that, Cassandra reeled towards Lycorisia, her hands gripping the shorter woman's shoulders. "I told you, I don't remember-" Cassandra interrupted her, speaking once more, "Is what we're seeing true?! What was that.. That thing that had her-" Solas walked towards them, placing a hand on Cassandra's shoulder. "What we are seeing is a reflection of the fade, things that have passed already, Seeker. We are seeing the version that has not been altered by the people's emotions. We are seeing the raw truth." He spoke, and Cassandra let go of Lycorisia's shoulders. She glared towards the younger woman, but remained silent.

The four of them quickly made their way down the rocks, easing themselves off the outcrop. Leliana had already set her scouts up on the corners, and some down with them. Leliana herself stood aside them as Solas made his commands. "The breach is sealed, albeit temporarily. When you open this, it will draw attention from the other side-" "That means demons!" Cassandra yelled out, interrupting him. Solas paid her no mind and continued on with his speech. "-meaning demons will most likely come through. For our sake, I hope it's nothing big." He muttered, and Lycorisia lifted her hand. The breach connected with the rift, and as she pulled her hand down, she opened it. Everything was silent for a moment, until something screeching. A large head poked out of the rift, and soon enough, the Pride demon fully emerged, landing onto the ground below with a loud thud. "Well... Shit."

Cassandra bellowed at the demon, raising her shield up quickly to block a lighting whip. Solas, Varric, and Lycorisia made their way backwards, nearing the archer before they began raining magic and arrows onto the demon. Lycorisia jerked her hand upwards, connecting with the rift for a few seconds before interrupting it. The Pride demon fell to its knees, and the magic around it waned. Cassandra drove her sword into the beast's lower leg, causing a hot gush of nearly black blood to erupt from the wound. Varric let lose a hail of arrows, leaping back at the same time. Lycorisia and Solas both unleashed a barrage of magic, and each ball of ice and fire that landed caused the Pride demon to falter. In the end, it was Cassandra that dealt the killing blow. She had leaped while it kneeled, driving her sword between it's eyes. The Pride demon let our a gurgling screech, dropping to the ground. Everyone was sweaty and shaking, and healing droughts were passed among the group, but Lycorisia refused. She needed to, no, had to end this.

She lifted her hand once more, connecting to the rift for what felt like the hundredth time. She gritted her teeth, and the magic that soured through her felt like it was boiling her blood. Her mana drained quickly, and as she fell to her knees, she was still attached to the damned thing. She was vaguely aware of someone screaming, and as she jerked her arm backwards, her body fell forwards. She welcomed the darkness that washed over her, and prayed that it had ended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and feedback are appreciated! Constructive criticism is needed on my part, as I want to do really well on this story.  
Tell me what you love and what you dislike about the story, and chapters may be re-written! <3


	4. Journal Entries - Page #1 to #4

_ **9:40 Dragon - Haring day five** _

_The Conclave is due to start on the tenth day of Haring. The journey to the Temple has been long, and when the Ostiwck circle fell, I knew I had to gather as many Apprentices that I could and get out of there before Blood Magic was used, or before we all were killed._

_ <strike>Maker, I miss you Lydia..  
</strike> _

_I have taken four younger Apprentices with me <strike>they were the ones that survived Ostwick's fall </strike> and they have been very helpful throughout this trip._

_The youngest one, a fair haired girl named Areina, had her eleventh name day two days ago! I wish we could have truly celebrated it, but the other three Apprentices -two younger boys, Adrian and Hudson, and another girl, Camila- helped me snare three Nugs and an August Ram for a small feast!_

_Areina cried that day, seemingly happy that we even cared to remember, and I gave her a silver pendant that I had found. The poor child accidentally called me "mamae", which is Elvish for "mother" or "mum". She almost cried again until I told her that I was honored to have the title. It turned out that her Clan had to leave her near Oswick's Circle when she came into her magic when she was six. They already had five Mages, and couldn't "risk another one", as she put it._

_The four children are sleeping, and I've elected to stay up for most of the night to keep watch. The small cabin we're in is well defended, but none of them sleep easy when I'm not watching for danger. I'd like for this to all be over with. We're almost at the Temple, now, and hopefully they will rest easy knowing that._

* * *

** _9:40 Dragon - Haring day seven_ **

_We were attacked. I told the Templar's that we were going to the Conclave, but they didn't listen. I don't know if they chose to ignore us or if they thought we were lying._

_Maker there was so much blood. Camila isn't doing well. <strike>I don't think she'll make it through the night </strike> She's only fifteen and I pray to the Maker that she makes it through the night. Areina, Adrian, and Hudson were not wounded. A Templar ran Camila through with his sword when she tried to beg for our lives. Stubborn girl I told her to not say a word. She reminds me of you, Lydia. All brash and brave and trying to do the right thing.._

_I'm decent at healing magic, but, Hudson has been much more of a help than I'd care to admit. The boy is basically an adept at it, despite only being fourteen. Adrian, who's only seventeen, managed to set up some fire glyphs while I sat up ice glyphs. Maker these four children deserve so much more. I have nary a doubt that they'll be able to live comfortably in a Circle after this whole blighted mess is finished. _

_Maker preserve me, and may he watch over them all if I were to fall._

* * *

The following journal entry is stained in tears; the first string of sentences are messy, undoubtedly written with a shaking hand.

** _9:40 Dragon - Haring day eight_ **

_Camila did not make it through the night. Areina cried harshly when we had to make a crude pyre for the poor girl. I doubt Adrian and Hudson will admit it, but the two boys cried with each other, too, and kept it together long enough to give Areina a hug._

_She's sharing my bed roll tonight, and even as I write this, she's still having tremors, despite being asleep._

_We are closer to the Temple now, and I can only pray that Camila's soul is aside the Maker, watching over us all._

_They used to be our protectors; some had foul intentions, while others simply wanted to help.. Maker I hope we don't run into any more Templar's until we reach the Conclave._

* * *

** _9:40 Dragon - Haring day nine_ **

_Thank the Maker! We have finally reached the Conclave. Areina, Adrian, and Hudson are all relieved that we made it here without another incident._

_The two boys thanked me profusely, and decided that they were going to split off from us so a lot of attention wouldn't be drawn. I'm still keeping a watchful eye on them from afar, but Maker knows that they're more than capable._

_Areina has decided to stay with me, not that I mind. I've grown rather attached to the young girl. I knew them all in the Circle, but my damned books <strike>all burnt and destroyed now, I'm sure</strike> kept me away from most other Apprentices. I got a chance to speak with the Divine; apparently Lydia spoke fondly enough of me, and I was in place to be trained by her directly. The older woman is.. Kind. Not what I had come to expect, no, but a welcomed surprise, none the less._

_Areina is scared. She keeps saying that "something is in the air" and that she has a "gut feeling" that something bad will happen. She tried to get me to leave with her and to get the boys, but, I eased her mind. As long as I am alive, nothing will come to harm her or them. Maker preserve me, but I do hope we both, no, all four of us, return to the Circle in Ostwick after it's rebuilt so we can continue being an apparent little family._

_Areina, despite there being two bedrolls, has begged to sleep in mine with me tonight. Poor child is extremely frightened, but I haven't a clue as to why. The incident with the other Templar's probably shook her to the core <strike>I know it did me</strike> but I assured her that the men and women here where not like the others that attacked us._

_There is only hope in the near future. I have faith that the Divine will be able to stop this mess. Maker watch over us._

* * *

** _9:40 Dragon - Haring day ten_ **

_The peace talks are due to happen today! Maker, we're all nervous, but I'm putting on a brave face for Areina. I was even able to braid the girl's hair in a traditional Dalish knot. I remembered the instructions enough from my book so I was able to make it more than presentable. She thanked me, and almost cried again._

_In a few short hours, the talks will begin. As of now, the Divine is in a back chamber, and Areina has goaded me into investigating what's going on. Maker, I hope I don't find trouble... Her fear's are enough to warrant me going there to nose into everything. She wants to go with me, but I told her that she was safer here, and that she should remain here until I come back._

* * *

With shaky hands, the figure closed the journal quickly. They laid the deep, oaken coloured book on the stand next to them, fingers lingering over the leather tree in the middle. The leather was slightly raised, and they wondered if her family had gifted her the journal during her stay in the circle.

They hadn't meant to snoop, no, but they wanted to go through her things while she rested in the cabin near the entrance of Haven. Adan said that she would recover, and Solas had confirmed that the mark had stopped growing and that she would live through the night. Gloved fingers ran down their own face, and knuckles pushed a bit into their eyes. _'Templar's attacked them and killed a child.. Maker.'_ Their own thoughts were rampant, and they wondered what the future would hold.

No matter what, when she woke, the woman with hair like fire, skin like ice, and eyes like earth, would herald a new beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little blurb that happens between chapter three and four!

**Author's Note:**

> Hoooo this was just an introduction to how things will work, and I'm sorry that this was the first chapter!  
I just felt like it would be easier to get a loooot of things out of the way, especially regarding Lycorisia's information and stuff so you guys could envision her (I'm shite at drawing) without having to guess on every aspect.  
I'll try to update this at LEAST every Wednesday, but, with me soon going back to work, that might be difficult, but, I'll still try!  
Any feedback is greatly appreciated! Criticism (kind but firm, please!) is also greatly appreciated. Thank you all!


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